


Strawberry Sweethearts

by megastarstrike



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Awkward Romance, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, sharing food, written for the saiouma exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 16:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13838511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megastarstrike/pseuds/megastarstrike
Summary: Keep it together, Shuuichi. He’s just holding your hand. Nothing major.Then Ouma flashed him a warm smile and tilted his head the slightest bit to the side.His heart jumped.Fuck. I’m gonna die.____Or, Saihara gets more than he bargained for when he takes his crush out on a date.





	Strawberry Sweethearts

**Author's Note:**

> hey this week's been a bad week. if you had a bad week too, i hope this makes your bad week just a bit less bad.
> 
> also special thanks to ReturnToZero for encouraging me to post this where more people might enjoy it and looking over it.
> 
> written for #25 for the saiouma exchange as a pinchhitter

There was something to be said about the awkwardness of first dates with a friend you had just asked out a day ago, but Saihara didn’t think it needed to be said out loud. After all, judging by the hand trembling just a few inches away from his own shaky hand, he was sure his date could feel it as well (not like he had the nerve to say it anyway).

Saihara took a deep breath before stopping in front of a store and giving his date a smile he hoped didn’t look as nervous as he felt. “Are you okay with this shop, Ouma-kun?”

Ouma returned his smile with a pout. “A tea shop? Come on, Saihara-chan, you know I hate tea.”

“S-Sorry, we can go—wait. You were asking Toujou-san for tea just a few hours ago.”

“Nishishi! My beloved Saihara-chan caught me again! Now, let’s go.” Ouma grabbed his hand and skipped into the tea shop.

A light blush rose to Saihara’s face at the contact, but he let himself be dragged into the shop and towards a table for two. He sat down across from Ouma, breathing in and out in a failing effort to keep his heartbeat down. _Keep it together, Shuuichi. He’s just holding your hand. Nothing major._

Then Ouma flashed him a warm smile and tilted his head the slightest bit to the side.

His heart jumped. _Fuck. I’m gonna die._

While Saihara was in the middle of his crisis, Ouma pointed at the board listing what the shop sold. “They sell asparagus at a tea shop?”

Saihara looked up and followed where his finger pointed. “They don’t sell vegetables here. You’re pointing at the cake section.”

“Oh, what a coincidence, I just happen to be in the mood for cake.”

“You pointed there on purpose.”

“Huh? I could’ve sworn there was a vegetable section on their menu.” The grin on Ouma’s lips and the playful sparkles dancing in his eyes told Saihara the opposite. “Anyway, we should split the triple-tiered double chocolate cake with sprinkles and extra frosting and—”

“W-Wait, slow down,” Saihara said, “You could barely finish a double-tiered cake from here with Amami-kun, Iruma-san, and Kiibo-kun. I don’t think two people could finish a triple-tiered one.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“No. I just don’t want you to end up hurting yourself again.” Saihara stopped, fidgeting his fingers underneath the table. He wasn’t fond of overly sweet foods, and his taste buds screamed at him to tell the truth about his tastes. Nevertheless, he forced a smile on his face and patted Ouma on the head. “But if you want to get a single-tiered one, that’s fine with me.”

Ouma smiled and leaned into his touch, but the smile slowly faded into a tight line as soon as the hand retracted. “Saihara-chan, you do know you’re on this date too, right?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re supposed to enjoy this date as much as I am. You don’t like sweet things, right? I’ll be right back.” Ouma flashed him a smile before leaning forward and snatching something from his pocket. He ran up to the counter with his signature laugh following him.

It took a moment for Saihara to process that Ouma had stolen his wallet. He sighed, yet a smile made its way to his face. The food at the tea shop wasn’t too expensive, even including the overly sweet tea Ouma was bound to buy for himself, and he didn’t mind buying something for their date.

_Date._

The fact that he got so giddy over a single word made him feel like a middle schooler getting excited about holding hands with someone in the school hallways (technically, he was a high schooler getting excited about holding hands with someone in public, which he had to admit wasn’t much better). Saihara was surprised he had gathered enough courage to ask out the person he had been crushing on for the better part of the year and not chickened out at the last second. Ouma had probably been caught off guard by that as well, as the few seconds he spent staring at Saihara in awe had sent his mind into panic mode. Still, he said yes, and that was the important part.

Ouma returned to their table with Saihara’s wallet in hand. He passed it over the table. “Man, Saihara-chan, your wallet’s pretty boring. You don’t even have an ID in there?”

“I have my school ID if that counts.”

“That’s disappointing. I personally have a glitter bomb installed in my wallet,” Ouma said, his hands moving in time with his words as his eyes shined under the bright lights of the store. “If anyone other than me opens my wallet, kaboom! The culprit has glitter all over them, and they’re cursed with glitter all over their clothes for the next ten years. Plus, the glitter has a special tracker that makes it easy for my organization to track them down and execute them for their crimes. Pretty cool, right?”

Saihara found himself chuckling as the worries shedded off him. “I don’t think that’s quite how glitter works.”

“Of course that’s how it works! Have you not seen me glitter bomb Kiiboy with an envelope? It took forever to get all the glitter out of his metal plates.”

“Are you sure? I’ve never heard Kiibo-kun complain about glitter, but Momota-kun’s mentioned it to me once or twice.”

Ouma’s smile grew wider as he recalled the various people he had glitter bombed over the years.

Saihara watched every movement, taking note of the way Ouma sometimes twisted his hair around a finger or the dramatic pauses he took to add suspense. The prideful grin on his face sent an arrow through his heart. He rested his chin on his palm and leaned forward, his heart growing warmer with each word.

A waitress approached their table. “Here’s your order.” She set a black tray on their table and walked away.

The tray contained two cups of tea, one containing so much sugar the particles hadn’t dissolved yet, and a pink strawberry cake with a heart drawn on it in red frosting. Strawberries had been set on the outer ring of the cake on top of dollops of whipped cream. One fork was set next to the cake.

One.

Ouma grinned and leaned forward. “We only have one fork. Looks like you’ll have to feed me, Saihara-chan!”

Saihara took a deep breath, trying to force his blush down. He knew for a fact there was extra silverware at the counter, but it was just feeding someone, right? It wasn’t like they would be kissing or anything. “Fine.”

“Nishishi, I knew you wouldn’t—” He cut himself off. “Wait, what?”

“I’m fine with feeding you.”

Ouma’s confused gaze roamed over Saihara’s face for a split second before a grin broke out on his face. “Yay! Be sure not to miss, okay?”

“Y-Yeah, got it.” Saihara picked up the fork and cut off a small piece before holding it to Ouma’s mouth.

“What, you’re not gonna tell me to say ‘ah’?”

“Oh, right, sorry. Say—”

Ouma dove forward and bit the cake off, settling back into his seat with his arms folded behind his head. “The cake tastes really good. Maybe it’s because you fed it to me.”

“That’s… not how food works,” Saihara said, his arm growing weak at the smile.

“You wanna try?”

“What do you—”

Ouma snatched the fork out of Saihara’s hands and cut off another piece of the cake before holding it to Saihara’s mouth with a warm smile. “Say ‘ah’, Saihara-chan!”

Saihara averted his eyes, certain that a blush had made its way to his face. “... Ah.” The cake that was placed into his mouth was fluffy. It almost felt as if he were biting into a mildly sweet, pink cloud. But when he took the fork and fed himself, the flavor had been muted, even with the added bit of strawberry.

“Well?” Ouma asked. “How does it taste without me feeding you?”

“Normal.”

“Did you really just try to lie to me?” Tears sprang to his eyes. “I can’t believe I went on this date with you, only for you to lie to me like this! How could you?”

Saihara flinched under the looks sent their way. “Sorry, sorry. Listen, just… here.” He cut off another portion of the cake and held it out to Ouma, whose tears stopped as soon as they came.

Ouma pouted as he ate the cake. “Hmph. You really hurt me, you know. I’ll only accept your apology if…”

It was obvious Ouma hadn’t truly been too upset about his white lie, but he could play along for now. “If?”

“You become my boyfriend.”

“H-Huh?”

“What?”

The two seemed equally surprised, Saihara’s jaw agape and mild horror filling Ouma’s eyes. The silence between then couldn’t have been longer than ten seconds, but it seemed to drag on for hours.

Saihara hid his face behind his hand and averted his eyes. “... Sure. I-I’ll be your boyfriend if you’ll be mine.”

Ouma’s face was lit redder than the strawberries left on the cake in front of them, but he managed to keep his voice steady. “You know, Saihara-chan, I don’t like liars.”

“You know better than anyone I’m not lying.”

Ouma scanned his face for any sign of a lie but couldn’t find any. “... Alright. If you’re my boyfriend now… that means you have to feed me!” He grinned and thrust the fork into Saihara’s hands. “Go on, Saihara-chan! Don’t be shy!”

Saihara smiled as he cut another piece of cake and held it to Ouma’s lips.

The two continued to split the cake and talk until all that was left of the cake was crumbs and a bit of frosting smeared on the plate. Their teacups had been empty long ago with only a few drops of tea remaining (and some sugar particles, in Ouma’s case). The people who had been around them were replaced with new customers. It was as if they had traveled through time.

Saihara stretched his legs as he and Ouma left the shop. The sky had changed from its light blue to a light orange mixed with streaks of purple. Clouds floated by, leaving a hint of strawberry in his mouth. There was still one thing Saihara wanted to do, but he wasn’t sure if it was the right decision.

Ouma beamed at him. “Well, I guess I’d better get going. Bye, Saihara-chan!” He hummed as he started walking in the other direction.

“Wait, Ouma-kun.”

Ouma turned around to him. “Well, what do you want?”

“C-Can I just, um…” Saihara weighed the pros and cons of moving forward before deciding it didn’t matter. He pressed his lips against Ouma’s cheek and stepped back, watching the heat rise to Ouma’s face. “Thanks for a nice date.”

Ouma had frozen in place, his eyes wide and face red. “You just…!”

“I-I’m sorry, should I not have done—”

“You think you can steal _my_ heart now? Well, I’ve got news for you, Saihara-chan. You’ve already stolen my heart! You can’t steal something you already have!”

“What?”

Ouma hesitated before jumping up and planting a kiss on Saihara’s cheek.

Saihara raised his hand to where Ouma had kissed him. He could feel the heat from his cheeks radiating from his face. “Ah, u-um…”

Ouma’s eyes darted around them, looking at anything besides Saihara. “Uh… see you later!” He sped off in the opposite direction, weaving his way through the crowd as he disappeared down the street.

Saihara stared after where Ouma had gone, his heart pounding so hard in his chest he was sure the people around them could hear it even above the sounds of the city. At the same time, he couldn’t stop swell of happiness rising in his chest. He closed his gaping mouth and turned in the other direction to walk home before his phone buzzed in his pocket.

 **OK:** another date next week…?

His heart felt so light it could be swept away in the weak winds. A smile danced on his lips as he texted back his answer.

 **SS:** Another date.


End file.
